Fuente : World Bank
http://www.worldbank.org

International Donors Pledge to Step Up Their Efforts to Provide Financial Aid for Iraq

/noticias.info/ Officials at an international conference of more than 80 nations and organizations pledged Wednesday to reinvigorate their lagging efforts to provide financial aid and debt relief for Iraq, and they urged Iraqi leaders to make more efforts to reach out politically to disaffected minorities supporting the insurgency, reports the New York Times.

In a day of meetings, conference attendees led by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, and the heads of the European Union listened to upbeat reports about Iraq but also appeals for more financial help, which the Iraqis said had not come through as promised. Presentations from Iraqis came from Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and Finance Minister Ali Allawi, all of whom pleaded for understanding of the difficulties of building a new nation on top of an insurgency and the ruins of war and misrule by Saddam Hussein.

The Daily Star (Lebanon) reports that al-Jaafari and Zebari presented their transitional government's vision for Iraq. They set out four top priorities: drafting a constitution and holding elections, securing the stability of the country, rebuilding the economy, and healing ties with neighbors. To carry out those tasks, Zebari asked for help training Iraq's military and for its neighbors to control their borders to prevent insurgents from infiltrating into Iraq. The nations at the conference responded by adopting a declaration of support backing the transitional Government's "efforts to achieve a democratic, pluralist, federal and unified Iraq, reflecting the will of the Iraqi people, in which there is full respect for political and human rights." British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the Conference, while not coming up with new concrete aid pledges, was "very encouraging," noting that Iraq's neighbors were now rallying to support Iraq.

The New York Times adds Allawi however painted a bleak picture of Iraq's financial situation, particularly its problems in producing oil. The production of 1.4 million barrels of oil a day is below the industry's targets, he said, but revenues are higher than expected because of high oil prices. However, he said the Iraqi budget, 95 percent of which is paid for by oil income, is drained by continued subsidies for gasoline, food and electricity for Iraqis, an elaborate system set up under Saddam Hussein and which the new government has been unable to dismantle for fear of angering Iraqi citizens.

The US daily further writes that most of the conference was closed to the news media, but there were signs of disappointment in some public comments. For example, Allawi made it clear that Iraq was disappointed that little of the financial assistance promised in Madrid in late 2003 had materialized. "The flow of grants and loans from the international community, which are essential for reconstruction, have not been within the expected levels," he said. American officials say that of the more than $13 billion pledged in Madrid over three years, only $2 billion had been raised. According to American officials, some generalized pledges were made at the two-day conference. The biggest was from the European Union, which, having already met its Madrid pledge, said it would give $130 million in new aid. Other countries promised to assist in police training and to help set up civilian government functions.

Dow Jones further reports that Iraq will begin restoring full diplomatic relations with Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, ending more than a decade of frozen ties with its Arab neighbors. Many Arab countries withdrew their ambassadors from Iraq shortly after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, causing a deep rift between Iraq and its neighbors. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari announced that Egypt would be the first Arab country to upgrade its diplomatic representation by appointing an ambassador. Also at the conference, Jordanian Foreign Minister Farouk Kasrawi announced his country would be sending an ambassador to Iraq "very soon," but did not give a date. In Ottawa, Canada's Foreign Ministry announced its ambassador to Jordan would also serve as a nonresident ambassador to Iraq. Spain was to send a new ambassador to Iraq soon, officials said.

The Associated Press notes that Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, meanwhile announced the date for a new donors conference for Iraq, which will take place in Amman, Jordan on July 17-18.

RIA Novosty (Russian Federation) meanwhile reports that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov proposed in Brussels, holding a new conference on Iraq in the fall, in a format similar to the November 23, 2004 summit at the ministerial level in Sharm-el-Sheikh. Lavrov said Russia's proposal on a collective mechanism for assisting the Iraq settlement, which had been discussed in Sharm el-Sheikh, remained in force. The minister stressed that this mechanism would ensure the faster and more efficient coordination of the global community's efforts in this sphere. notas_de_prensa_archivo